A man accused of sexual battery and torture and murder of a young woman, yesterday requested “contact visits” with his one-year-old daughter while he is in custody, from a San Diego County judge.

“Mister Perez has not been allowed to have a contact visit with his daughter,” said Jeff Reichert, public defender for Louis Ray Perez, on August 9, 2013.

Superior Court Judge K. Michael Kirkman declared that “the court is not opposed” to the request, which is not the same as “approving” the request nor “ordering” the visit. The Sheriff’s department controls inmates in San Diego County.

Perez, 47, is charged with kidnap and sexual battery and torture and murder of Brittany Dawn Killgore, 22, whose abused body was found at the side of a road on April 17, 2012.

In August of 2012, a co-defendant of Perez named Dorothy Maraglino gave birth to their daughter; both defendants were in custody at that time. The baby now appears to be the focus of other legal action.

Papers filed by an attorney, which are found in court files, state: “Maraglino and Perez, the father of the unborn child, asked Becky Z to take custody of their baby upon birth, and care for the child until they were released from custody or other arrangements were made….It was decided that Becky Z would live in Maraglino’s home at 317 East Fallbrook Street, taking care of the home and the child….Becky Z claims to have found incriminating evidence almost a year ago which she now has decided to provide to the prosecution, coincidentally timed with her attempt to obtain permanent legal custody of Ms. Maraglino’s child against Ms. Maraglino’s will.”

Dorothy Maraglino, 38, and Louis Perez, 47, and a third defendant named Jessica Lopez, 26, all plead not-guilty to murder. The prosecutor is alleging “special circumstances” of murder-during-kidnap against all three defendants, which means all three could face the death penalty or life in prison without possibility of parole.

This case caused a stir in San Diego County because the victim was married to a Marine deployed to Afghanistan at the time, and Perez was an active-duty Marine when he was arrested.

Prosecutor Patrick Espinoza claims to have surveillance video of Killgore leaving her apartment the evening of April 13, 2012, before she allegedly got into a car with Perez. The prosecutor asserts that Killgore was taken to Maraglino’s nearby home in Fallbrook, California, where the other two defendants joined in the crimes.

Adding to the grotesque interest is the prosecutor’s assertions that the beautiful young woman was abducted as part of a sadomasochistic fantasy. Details of the perverse habits of the defendants were exposed during a preliminary hearing in March 2013.

The next court date for all three defendants is set for November 14, 2013, when the death penalty issue might be discussed. It is expected that all defense attorneys will have met with District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis by that time, part of the protocol before declaring whether or not the death penalty is being pursued.

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